Coming off of an all-american season as a freshman much was expected of Trey Burke this season and, amazingly enough, the Columbus, OH, native has lived up to expectations, averaging 18.0 points and 7.0 assists as the Wolverines have emerged as one of the best teams in the country. So when I tell you that Burke averaged 19.0 points, 6.5 assists, 4.5 boards and 2.0 steals this week while shooting 71.4% from the floor and 50% from three with just a single turnover in 68 minutes of action, you should accept it as business as usual.

Here’s the thing that makes Burke so impressive: he understands that his role as a point guard is, first and foremost, distribution. Early on in games, he’ll focus on making sure that the rest of his team gets their shots and their points. He gets everyone involved, and it isn’t until his opponent makes a run or keeps things close in the second half that he takes over. Burke hasn’t been perfect this season — his play down the stretch against Arkansas bordered on selfishness, as he over-dribbled and forced a couple bad shots that allowed the Razorsbacks to stay in the game longer than necessary — but overall, Burke has turned himself into a legitimate Player of the Year candidate.

The All-They-Were-Good-Too Team:

G: Daniel Barnes, Illinois-Chicago: Barnes is a backcourt player for the Flames, and despite playing more than 30 minutes per game, Barnes has just six assists in ten games this season. That should tell you something: that Barnes is out there to score, and he did just that against Eastern Michigan on Saturday. The 6-foot-2 senior finished with 30 points on 10-18 while hitting six threes and, yes, handing out one assists as UIC moved to 9-1 on the season with a win over Eastern Michigan. It’s worth noting that Barnes transferred to UIC after spending a year at EMU.

G: Anthony Drmic, Boise State: The Broncos bounced back from an ugly loss at Utah two weeks ago with a 19 point win over LSU at home on Saturday. Drmic led the way for Leon Rose’s team, finishing with a career-high 34 points on 12-18 shooting. He also hit 6-10 from beyond the arc. Drmic is now averaging 16.4 points on the season and shooting 43.6% from three.

F: Roy Devyn Marble, Iowa: Marble finished with 30 points on just 14 shots on Saturday as the Hawkeyes knocked off Northern Iowa in the Big Four Classic, a double-header featuring the four Division I schools in the Hawkeye State.

F: Greg Whittington, Georgetown: In his previous four games, Greg Whittington was 14-45 from the floor and 2-17 from three, averaging just 8.0 ppg as the Hoya’s offense had stalled. Prior to putting up 89 points in a win over Longwood, Georgetown’s previous three games saw them average 48.3 points — all wins, over Tennessee, Texas and Towson. But Whittington finished with 25 points and 11 boards in a win over Western Carolina on Saturday. Slumpbuster for the x-factor?

C: Trevor Mbakwe, Minnesota: Mbakwe had surgery to repair a torn ACL a year ago, and early on this season it was evident that he hadn’t yet regained the same amount of explosiveness in that knee. Slowly but surely, however, he’s begun to look like he’s getting closer and closer to being back to the Mbakwe of old. Against North Dakota State, he finished with 14 points and 18 boards, including a pair of tip-dunks where he actually got fairly high off the ground. He’s now averaging 9.2 points and 7.4 boards on the season.